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Gemstones
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Herringbone Stitch
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Seed Bead Patterns

Does anyone else remember back to the turn of the 21st century, when the internet was still in its infancy, and beading websites were few and far between? My, how far we've come in a mere 15 years! These days, you can learn just about anything online or by downloading or streaming digital videos...

Like a lot of bead-weavers I know, I got started making jewelry by learning how to string beads. Once I started learning how to do off-loom bead-weaving, though, I started looking for creative ways to combine my bead stitching with my bead stringing skills. Fifteen years later, I still love finding new...

Herringbone stitch has long been one of my favorite bead-weaving stitches, and I'm guessing that I'm not alone: from beaded ropes to beaded bezels for cabochons and large gemstone focal beads, herringbone stitch has dozens of variations and uses in beaded jewelry design ideas. I've written...

I make more beaded necklaces than any other type of jewelry, so I'm all about the beaded jewelry designs in this free eBook! Inside, you'll find a variety of necklace making projects, including beading stringing, peyote stitch, and other off-loom bead-weaving stitches and techniques. Beaded necklaces...

For most of us, our introduction to beaded ropes came by way of making tubular versions of our favorite off-loom bead-weaving stitches, or by creating a classic spiral rope. There's something incredible about watching a few rounds of bead stitching turn into a fabulous beaded rope. Beaded ropes have...

So many bead-weaving stitches, so little time! Just when I think I've found my favorite bead-weaving stitch or technique, another one grabs my attention with a new twist or a variation. But time and time again, I find myself coming back to these three basic off-loom bead-weaving stitches for most...

For someone who struggled to learn how to do peyote stitch, I sure do use it a lot these days! Once I mastered the basic thread path, I realized that there's a whole lot of cool stuff you can do with peyote stitch: everything from making beaded bezels to bails for gemstone pendants to beaded ropes...

Once you get hooked on beading with cabochons like I am, you want to work with cabochons of all sizes, shapes, and materials. Just looking at my haul from this year's Bead Fest Philadelphia, I noticed that I seemed to have purchased more cabochons than in previous years, most of which were made by...

Maybe it's because I live in the heart of the Adirondack mountains of upstate New York, but I love to find inspiration for my beaded jewelry designs from the natural world. Every day, I'm greeted with the experience of being able to live close to the Earth, whether it's in the food and flowers...

A few weeks ago, my husband and my 6 year old son went off on an "adventure" while I was attending a training workshop, and when I arrived home, my son presented me with a few beautiful agate slices that he had chosen for me from a museum gift shop. I was so touched by the beautiful gift, and...

Herringbone stitch might have been one of the last bead-weaving stitches I learned how to do, but these days, it's always my first choice for making beaded bezels and beaded ropes! This quick, versatile beading stitch can be used to create both flat and dimensional beadwork, and I love the strength...

The more I practice yoga, the more I discover that my practice can apply to every other aspect of my life -- including my beaded jewelry design ideas. One of the most important concepts to me in all of yoga is the concept of santosha. Santosha can be interpreted in many different ways: either as a sense...

Do you love herringbone stitch as much as I do? Really, there's so much you can do with it -- whether you want to make a beaded bezel for a crystal bead, a beautiful twisted herringbone rope, or a piece of beaded jewelry with a distinctly African ethnic feel, herringbone stitch is my go-to bead-weaving...

I love a good challenge, don't you? How about the challenge of using a cabochon, without a hole, in a piece of beaded jewelry? When I was learning how to bead, I was thrilled to find out that I didn't need to know metal smithing techniques to include my favorite gemstone cabochons in my beaded...

Warning: Long Story Alert. Last winter, my husband and I took a parenting class with our son's preschool teacher. One evening during class, I started noticing the patterns on the beautiful purple shirt worn by the teacher, and of course, my beady brain got to thinking about how I could re-create...